The Story Behind "In Broad Daylight"

Standing a few feet from where the killers opened fire on Ken Rex McElroy more than three decade ago, Harry N. MacLean tells the story of how he came to write his Edgar Award-winning book In Broad Daylight in his new true crime short, The Story Behind 'In Broad Daylight' MacLean had doors slammed in his face, guns pulled on him, and was bitten by a dog. Eventually, he won over the closed community of Skidmore, Mo.

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The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez

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Failure of Justice: A Brutal Murder, an Obsessed Cop, Six Wrongful Convictions

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Publisher's Summary

Edgar-Award winning author Harry MacLean is bringing the New York Times best-seller In Broad Daylight back to print in a keepsake trade paper edition that also includes "The Story Behind 'In Broad Daylight.'" In Broad Daylight tells the story of the killing of Ken Rex McElroy on the main street of Skidmore, Missouri, in July 1981. McElroy, an illiterate hog farmer, had terrorized all of northwest Missouri for over 20 years, until the town, and even law enforcement, was terrified of him. McElroy was shot as he sat in his truck in front of the tavern. Over 45 men witnessed the shooting. Despite two eyewitness accounts and three grand jury investigations, no one has been prosecuted for the crime. In Broad Daylight won an Edgar Award for Best True Crime. It was also made into a movie starring Brian Denehey, Cloris Leachman and Chris Cooper. It was re-released as an e-book on Amazon July 2012 on the 31st anniversary of the killing. St. Martin's Press published the last print edition in 2006. In "The Story Behind 'In Broad Daylight,'" MacLean tells how he researched and wrote the book. He tells of guns being drawn on him, being bitten by a dog, and a confrontation with the killer on the killer's ranch.

In addition to updates on characters from the book (including who is still alive and who has died), the book answers many questions about the killing itself, such as who was involved, and what has become of them. MacLean describes the breakthrough events when key characters agreed to speak with him, and he realized he would finally get the story. The author also discusses the nature of the moral consequences of the killing for the town and those involved in the crime.

I really enjoyed listening to this book, and found it difficult to break away from it. The remarkable thing about this story is that an entire town could loathe a man so much that some men could shoot and kill him in broad daylight in front of many people, and not a single person would say who did it. In this book the author does a great job of helping us understand how the townspeople felt, and why they felt so powerless to stop Mr. McElroy.

I would strongly recommend this book to people who enjoy reading true crime (a genre I love).

The narrator did a great job of telling the story, without getting in the way of it. It was enjoyable to listen to.

What made the experience of listening to In Broad Daylight the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the story, I read a short story on the incident but this story was detailed and i was able to get a better view on how everything worked up to the day it the crime happened and what happened to the town after.

What about Dave Clark’s performance did you like?

I like the way it was written, I didn't find any slow area's that dragged. The book was balanced

What does Dave Clark bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's totally vested in the narration. You forget you're listening - you become a part of the story

Any additional comments?

Not to be missed...I was hesitant about committing 14 or so hours to a story I already knew the ending of...but I thoroughly enjoyed it and hated for the book to end. I've already started my second listen...

Well researched & detailed. However, it did tend to get bogged down and drag in those details at times. Thought provoking. The truth is always stranger than fiction. The law enforcement agencies & the justice system certainly failed to protect that community. If backed into a corner what would you do........